This partial watermark, revealed under transmitted light, was found in
the paper of The little pool, an
etching published in 1871. The lower half of the watermark shows two prancing
lions with the letters P and G, most likely the papermaker's initials.

The 'beehive' watermark originated with a family of Dutch papermakersby the name of Honig [honey], who owned mills in Zaandyk (1675–1902). The coat of arms of the Honig family (incorporating the beehive motif) became a watermark that was copied extensively throughout the Netherlands and abroad in places such as Russia and Scandinavia.

The countermark in the paper of the drypoint The Forge 1871 belongs to the firm De Erven de Blauw c.1822. De Erven de Blauw derives from an important family of Dutch papermakers who began making paper in 1621.

The Foolscap watermark was used frequently by European papermakers from Britain to Russia. In our day the name might conjure up a mental picture of a schoolboy in a dunce’s cap banished to a corner of the schoolroom; but this commonly-used watermark displayed a creature foreign to our times - the clown, fool or jester. (Shakespeare uses the three terms synonymously).

There are two kinds of Pro Patria watermark: the ‘Britannia’ form used by continental papermakers producing papers for the British market; and the ’Maid of Dort’ form (detail shown), produced for general sale.

Two works in the National Gallery of Australia’s collection of Whistler prints show three watermark images of a lion rampant on a shield flanked by the letters M and C in Gothic script and a countermark MDCCCXXVIII (1828): the etching Millbank and the lithograph Nursemaids: Les Bonnes du Luxembourg. The latteris unusualin that it incorporates two lion rampant watermarks, one a mirror image of the other.

There are many variations of the 'Strasburg lily' watermark. It has also
been known, more prosaically, as the Fleur-de-Lis on a Crowned Shield,
or simply as the Fleur-de-Lis, (a term derived from the central element
of the design).

Whatman paper is considered to be one of the finest English handmade papers of the 18th century. The elder James Whatman began to produce good quality white paper at his famous mill established in Kent around 1740.